Air quality in Sardinia is good . This is confirmed by the latest monthly reports from ARPAS, the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection , which has managed the island's atmospheric monitoring network since 2008, comprising 25 stations distributed across urban, industrial, and rural areas.
In September, in particular, there were five exceedances of the daily limit for PM10, all detected by the Macomer monitoring station, compared to 57 overall the previous month . In August, Saharan dust brought by a persistent sirocco wind made the difference: exceedances were widespread, with peaks of 112 micrograms in Quartu Sant'Elena and 108 in Seulo, a station that stopped at 13 the following month.
The only criticality detected in September, that of Macomer, is due to a contingent situation: the presence of a construction site, explains Alessandro Serci, a chemist at the Agency responsible for the monitoring network.
Even the ozone, which exceeded legal limits six times in September between Sarroch and Portoscuso, is not of local origin. According to Serci, it is not caused by industrial activities, but comes largely from continental areas .
A value exceeding the legal limits isn't enough to indicate poor air quality, Serci explains. To properly interpret the reports, it's important to remember that the limits for individual pollutants apply to the entire year. For example, PM10 cannot exceed 50 micrograms up to 35 times in a twelve-month period . Citizens can add the values above the threshold month by month, but this is a partial assessment, not contextualized. The data, Serci specifies, must be verified over time, paying attention to possible distortions, as in the example of the Macomer monitoring station.
In cases where the exceedances indicated in the ARPAS reports are not occasional, the Region is required to intervene with targeted planning. The critical period for fine particulate matter is winter, due to heating systems and vehicle traffic, with particular attention to urban areas. In industrial areas like Sarroch, however, attention is focused on other types of emissions, particularly benzene, the annual average of which cannot exceed five micrograms, a figure that has never been reached in the last ten years : the maximum recorded was three micrograms in 2021, which has since dropped to 1.5-2 micrograms, levels similar to those detected by monitoring stations in urban areas.
"We've been keeping a close eye on Sarroch for some time, given the constant complaints from the population," Serci explains. "We try to keep those power plants in top working order; maintenance is very punctual."
(Unioneonline)
